PRX to Distribute On Being

PRX is happy to announce that as of July 1st, On Being will join our broadcast distribution and digital portfolios. On Being is a Peabody Award-winning public radio conversation and podcast. The show takes on life’s big questions of meaning with scientists and theologians, artists and teachers. Each week, host Krista Tippett presents her audience with a new discovery about the immensity of our lives.

Find out more information in the press release below.

On Being/Krista Tippett Public Productions and PRX Announce New Broadcast and Digital Partnership

Cambridge, MA (March 29, 2016) — Beginning July 1, On Being will join the broadcast distribution and digital portfolio of PRX, the Public Radio Exchange. PRX is the distributor of The Moth Radio Hour, Reveal, and This American Life and is the home of Radiotopia, a podcast collective anchored by 99% Invisible from Roman Mars. PRX was named one of Fast Company’s Ten Most Innovative Companies in Media in 2015 and is the recipient of a MacArthur “genius” award.

On Being has been an independent production of Krista Tippett Public Productions (KTPP), a non-profit company based on Loring Park in Minneapolis, since 2013. In that time, the show’s audience has grown exponentially, with a 245% increase in annual podcast downloads from six million to 21 million, and weekly broadcasts on nearly 400 public radio stations around the U.S. On Being is the only public radio program to receive the highest honors in both broadcast and digital media—the Peabody and the Webby award. KTPP also hosts TheCivil Conversations Project and this month released a new podcast, Becoming Wise, drawn from content in Tippett’s new book, Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living (Penguin Press), on sale beginning April 5.

“KTPP is driven by a vision of media as social enterprise,” Tippett says. “PRX is an entrepreneurial force in independent media, building strong relationships with public radio stations, producers, and diverse audiences. We are excited to pair our public service orientation and institutional nimbleness with theirs.”

“No show has a more deeply engaged audience—and a more tangible effect on the lives of individuals and communities—than On Being,” says Kerri Hoffman, COO of PRX. “It has evolved in fascinating ways, to take on the most important subjects of our time. We’re thrilled to help bring this content and impact to an even wider web of audiences and platforms.

PRX will take over operations previously handled at American Public Media, the national distribution arm of Minnesota Public Radio. Tippett originally piloted her program there in the early 2000s, launching a weekly series in 2003 with the title Speaking of Faith. “MPR provided a vital home for this project to launch, find its voice and grow,” she says. “This idea would not have been welcomed with greater generosity anywhere else. MPR/APM will always have a foundational place in the self-understanding of On Being, and we hope to deepen our strong and ongoing broadcast partnership moving forward.” On Being airs twice each weekend on MPR stations, and MPR is hosting the launch of Tippett’s Becoming Wise at the Fitzgerald Theater in April. On Being will continue to be based and to incubate The Civil Conversations Project in the Twin Cities region.